Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Voter turnout was slightly more than 40 percent
The recount of two close races in the Nov. 2 general election did not change the results, with Miguel Gutierrez beating George W. Blush by five votes for a seat on the Shelton City Council, and Arla Shephard Bull defeating Michael Curtin for another term on the North Mason School Board.
The vote counts remained the same from the most recent results released on Nov. 22, Mason County Auditor Paddy McGuire wrote the Journal in an email Friday morning.
Gutierrez received 728 votes for 49.59% and Blush 723 votes for 49.25% in their race for a four-year seat as council member No. 7.
Shephard Bull defeated Curtin by 22 votes in the race for North Mason School Board Director No. 5.
Gutierrez was sworn inMonday, with Megan Fleiss stepping aside. He will be sworn in again next month to start the four-year term.
Gutierrez had to wait exactly a month for the final results.
The past few weeks have been “a lot of stress and gray hairs,” he said in a telephone interview Friday morning with the Journal.
“I wanted to cry, I wanted to jump for joy, I wanted to take a deep breath,” he said of his reaction to the news. “We have such a great community and we need to take care of it better.”
The residents should stop being so divided, Gutierrez said.
“We have to be more kind and move forward,” he said.
Blush did not respond to email requests to comment.
In the North Mason School Board race, voters in Mason and Kitsap counties combined to give Shephard Bull 2,283 votes for 49.53%, and Curtin 2,2651 votes for 49.06%. Voters cast 65 ballots for write-in candidates.
“I am grateful for every single vote, and as I have said throughout my campaign, I am committed to listening to all of my constituents,” Shephard Bull wrote in an email to the Journal. “I am energized and eager to begin the work in earnest of advocating for the children of out community. I have a long list of concerns that constituents brought to my attention during the campaign, and I am hitting the ground running. I am appreciative of all the support I’ve received.”
Curtin did not respond to an email request to comment.
The final voter turnout was 40.31 percent.
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